I do agree with you about the electricity in the woods, but you have to think about those emergencies situations. I just had a customer purchase the Gobe system. And she wanted it just in case her son gets bite by a snake or if a mountain lion comes around. I think that we should not go to the woods to bring more problems with us, but we should use the wisdom we have to bring what is needed like solar power. Plus what if you fall and twist your ankle that you cannot walk and then you are up in the mountains and your girlfriend can't carry you, and it is getting dark. You would be crawling and then you would really be up a creek because you thought you wanted to be one with nature. And by the time you get back to the doctor, it will be really bad than if you just had that extra juice to make a emergency call to a ranger to helicopter you to a hospital. Going into the woods is a place to relax and get away from problems. But so many people have actually died in the woods for numerous reasons and then some other couple come walking by two or three weeks later and see a dead body. And they have their phones and they call the police. Y As you can see having solar power or batteries or even electronics in the woods is not bad, it is when we forget to mediate and quite our minds to the sounds of nature that we tend to forget where we are. If you are looking for quality solar power, check out livecofriendly.com They carry solar power but also agree that we should think of a camping trip as a adventure with nature not electronics but also take safety and wisdom into consideration. Here is a link that might be useful: Portable Battery Chargers

Tents aren't expensive. If you'd plan to have a larger group only occasionally, better get one whose size fits the ones usually going - or probably a little larger than you think you'd need, which I think you'd appreciate later. Then get a second tent to accomodate the occasional travellers: if two other families were to alternate, they could share the cost and own it between them, unless the second family would need it at the same time as the first accompanying family. Campgrounds, which aren't expensive, have sites without power supplied, which would mean that you'd need a gas-powered lantern, but you can get sites with power for a slightly higher cost. Then you'd need power cords and lights. A propane-powered campstove isn't too expensive, either. You'd almost certainly want sleeping bags - do you have any now? Most folks also want air mattress(es) (but they tend to spring leaks) or a slim foam pad on which to lay the sleeping bag(s). However - if you want to get a motor home, they're pretty expensive. My kids have one for sale, following the death of their mother - asking about (Cdn)$50 - 60,000., I think. Any takers? Might be more attractive if, after upcoming retirement, you plan to do a lot of travelling. But if you could find return on alternate investment of 4%, on $50,000. that's $2,000./yr., which means a cost of $1,000./wk. if you use it only for an annual vacation of 2 weeks. Before you consider extra costs for renting space at motor home parks or gas for the larger vehicle, in many cases not just during the vacation, but for at least occasional use all year long. Plus insurance surcharge, maintenance, depreciation and other costs. Many folks consider camping rather primitive - but our forefathers experienced a lot worse, so you can be sure that, in most cases, it wouldn't kill you, as most of them survived. Camping people share a lot of good-will, also - you'd find that you make a lot of friends. But then, my ex- did while travelling in her motor home for three months in winters plus occasionally in summer, previously to and during almost all of 10 years of retirement. If you're used to and desire most of the comforts of home, better rent either one of these alternative systems for a trial run before you decide to buy - remembering that with rental stuff, usually when you've rented things three or four times, you've paid most of the cost of purchase. Good wishes for making a choice that you won't regret - well, not more than marginally, anyhow. ole joyful

IMO you are probably putting the cart before the horse, so to speak. Most buildings can be added on to or redesigned and as long as there is enough level land around the house where you'd like to add more rooms then this property, all else being equal, may be right for you. However, until you actually own it there is little point in designing a new plan. I could tell you how I know this but I'll try to keep this short. There's an order to this sort of thing and one needs to know that legally you can add on to the house which is likely but I'd check with the county to make sure. Then, if you have done your due diligence regarding purchasing and the house seems like a good deal you buy it. Please don't let your excitement of thinking about turning this into your dream home cloud any issues this property may have. And most property has issues, especially rural property. Check to see if the cabin was built to code. In some places that is not necessary with rural properties and could be a problem when you want to add an addition if code is now required and you have to have some things redone to code before adding on. This house is described as a cabin and may not be insulated. It does not appear to have a solid foundation (post, piers stated). I've posted a link with more pics below. The bath is only a half bath and I wonder about the water source and type of septic which are not mentioned. Also I wonder about the electric line and the possibility of a phone line. If you have to upgrade or add a phone line it could be expensive. There was one house on an acreage we did not buy because the costs of an upgraded power line and new phone line were a deal breaker. You need to be clear on costs, both the initial purchase price, as well as the costs to build an addition and do necessary renovations. Those don't come cheap altho you might spread some of it out over a period of time. Think about the size of the addition you would like to build and cost it out on the basis of cost per square foot to build in that area. I certainly do not want to discourage you from your dream but we built a new home on a large acreage and I know how much everything cost us. In the listing I posted below it says "beautiful views of the lake if you choose to trim some trees" and I know how much time and energy my DH spent doing just that! Also every time we had to have a large piece of machinery in (backhoe, etc.) there was a drop charge which was astronomical! While one plans to have all necessary work done at the same time not everything can be planned exactly. A 16'x24' Master bedroom is quite large and will take up the entire loft area of that house. Larger gables could replace the small ones to make more space. Of course if you build a new eat-in kitchen the bedroom could be over that. Do either you or your DH know how to draw houseplans? After you have purchased this property you might make some sketches or a proper plan of your ideas to take to an architect or draftsperson. I wish you all the best with this dream and hope it will be a reality for you, but do keep your eyes wide open. Here is a link that might be useful: more pics here

It does propagate as easily as mother of thousands. It grows abundantly in the Bahamas, and I wanted to try it here. While investigating, I had a leaf sitting in the garage, and found out it was invasive, so never planted it, put it on soil or light, and three weeks later is was sprouting. Wrapped it in plastic and disposed properly. :(